Aggies call out students aiming to make a buck on Bama tickets

Kyle Field should be rocking on Saturday afternoon. (Brett Coomer/Chronicle)

Texas A&M officials are urging Aggies to “wear maroon and wave white” on Saturday in the most ballyhooed regular-season football game in the history of Kyle Field, when top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Alabama takes on sixth-ranked A&M.

That’s the happy part of a letter to attendees this week. A specific message targeted at current A&M students, however, is much more direct and a whole lot less colorful: Do not sell your highly coveted tickets for profit.

“Student sports options are heavily subsidized by season-ticket holders,” an email from the athletic department to students declared. “Former students and Aggie fans have long been committed to maintaining the quality and size of the student allotment at Kyle Field. In return, Texas A&M students, the 12th Man, are expected to honor this commitment by not reselling for profit their student tickets.”

The contest is the “most expensive regular-season college football game ever,” according to Forbes.com, which reported tickets are averaging $763 on the secondary market.

“Students found to be in violation of this policy will be penalized, to include cancellation of sports options, cancellation of tickets already pulled,” the email continued, “and the loss of sports privileges for the duration of their Texas A&M career.”

A&M senior associate athletic director Jason Cook said as of Wednesday night, more than 250 students had been contacted by the university regarding their listings for the tickets on Internet sites and about 1,000 such tickets were in question in the 82,589-seat stadium.

twitter: @brentzwerneman

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

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<center><strong>Texas A&M 52, Duke 48<br>Record: 9-4<br></center></strong><br>
Texas A&M defensive back Toney Hurd Jr. (4) jumps in front of Duke wide receiver Johnell Barnes, left, to intercept an Anthony Boone pass, which he returned 55 yards for a touchdown, during the fourth quarter. less